Memo: Intimate Partner Violence
To: Bruce Goodwin And Rotoya Goodwin
From: Johnell Malone
Date: 1/26/2021
Subject: Intimate Partner Violence
Introduction
I am writing this memorandum to address an issue I believe is important to our church. The pandemic has had a deep impact on the way people interact. The normal routines that granted distraction from how people deal with the relationships have been stripped under extended quarantine orders. This has resulted in a surge in intimate partner violence cases during the pandemic. The demographic of our church consists primarily of African American women, yet no program has been established to help educate, prevent or deal with issues related to intimate partner violence. I believe it would greatly benefit our church to create a program with support systems and resources in the education, prevention and care of individuals dealing with intimate partner violence.
Problem
Intimate Partner violence (IPV) during the pandemic has been called by some reporting, “The Pandemic within the Pandemic” and for good reason. One in of four women and one in 10 men experience some form of violence either physical, emotional, sexual or psychological. Statically, the rate of IPV increases during holidays as the victims and their abusers are force to spend longer periods of time together in a confined space. It is estimated that 40% of women will experience IPV during their lifetime. The pandemic has increased the likelihood of that problem by several orders of magnitude. While that number varies by ethnic group, it is significantly higher for African American women and children.
Another unfortunate fact about IPV is that most of those who experience it, resist reporting it and instead enduring it. The topic of IPV according to one survey, shows that it is an under addressed issue within predominantly African American churches for a number of reasons including underestimating the quantity of victims. This problem rose to the forefront personally when a family member experienced IPV this year.
After researching the issue of IPV on a national level and then refining it to how African American religious institutions address the issue of IPV, I found it discouraging many sources commented that it was an under researched topic. Regardless, the numbers proved that the issue of IPV deserves more attention from both scholars and senior church leadership. This is especially true during a pandemic where victims are engaged in extended contact with their abusers and no way easily withdraw from both the abuse and abuser.
The National Center for Victims of Crime reported 53.8% of Black women experienced psychological abuse. Physical abuse was reported at 41.2%. Of the majority of IPV cases that resulted in a homicide, 92% of the victims were in intra-racial relationships and 56% of cases involved a current or former partner.
The issue extends to teens as well with the CDC stating that Teen Dating Violence (TDV) affects millions of teens with nearly 1 in 11 female and 1 in 15 male high school students experiencing physical dating violence in the past year. Nearly 1 in 9 female and 1 in 36 male high school students reported experienced sexual dating violence in the past year. It such an important issue that the CDC created a program “Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships” to help address the issue. TDV is a part of IPV, and it is something I believe our church can do something about.
“While one in three white women report having experienced domestic violence [during the pandemic], the rates of abuse increased dramatically to about 50% and higher for those marginalized by race, ethnicity...”
Decision Maker
As you, Bruce and Rotoya Goodwin are the pastors of the church you are the final decision maker. You directly and oversee the management and direction of all activity in the church, as well as authorize and allocate resources.
Solution
Intimate Partner Violence and Teen Dating Violence are both issues while unfortunate in their occurrence, is fortunate to have a wide array for resources. To this end, I propose that a committee help address the issue of IPV and TDV by collecting and providing content, resources to the congregation and go through IPV training. I also propose that the pastors lead a workshop in IPV prevention and help establish a network for those in need to receive private aid if need be.
In order to organize the aforementioned into a viable program I recommend the following:
1. Review IPV programs that other institutions may have already created
2. Create a section for resources and information on the church website dealing with IPV
3. Designate one day every quarter to address IPV and TDV
4. Create a workshop on IPV and TDV in conjunction with a licensed therapist that specializes in IPV and TDV. The workshop should touch on the following:
a. Common myths surrounding IPV
b. Common causes of IPV
c. The short- and long-term effects of IPV
d. Spirituality and mental health
e. Common examples of IPV
f. Warning signs and red flags of IPV
g. Help for dealing with the trauma of IPV
h. Escaping IPV
i. Prevention of IPV
5. Develop a program that encourages healthy conflict management, communication and relationship development for both teens and adults.
a. Self-love and self-care
b. The power of vulnerability
c. Cognitive Bias
d. Communication isn’t always the key
i. Common myths about communication
e. Attachment Styles
f. Wisdom as an act of love
g. Your history, Your truth
i. A look at how a person’s cultural and personal experience impacts how they perceived love, abuse and trauma.
While it may be challenging to develop a program and workshop for IPV, I believe it may be helpful to start small and start with the foundations. I believe by breaking how IPV and TDV are addressed into to the categories of education, prevention and recovery will go a long way in helping to establish a robust platform that not only serves the members of the church, but the community as a whole.
Research
Bent-Goodley, T., St. Vil, N., & Hubbert, P. (2012). A spirit unbroken: The Black church’s evolving response to domestic violence. Social Work & Christianity, 39(1), 52–65.
Blackburn Center. (2020, February 26). Black Women & Domestic Violence. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.blackburncenter.org/post/2020/02/26/black-women-domestic-violence
Bradbury-Jones, C., & Isham, L. (2020). The pandemic paradox: The consequences of COVID-19 on domestic violence. Journal of clinical nursing, 29(13-14), 2047–2049. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15296
Brade, K. A., & Bent-Goodley, T. (2009). A refuge for my soul: Examining African American clergy’s perceptions related to domestic violence awareness and engagement in faith community initiatives. Social Work & Christianity, 36(4), 430–448.
Buddy, T. (2020, October 05). How Women of Color Are Impacted by Domestic Violence. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/domestic-violence-varies-by-ethnicity-62648
CDC (2020, March 09). Preventing Teen Dating Violence. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/dating-violence/index.html
Collins, W. L., & Moore, S. E. (2006). Theological and practice issues regarding domestic violence: How can the Black church help victims? Social Work & Christianity, 33(3), 252–267.
Dccadv.org. (n.d.). Training and Outreach. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://dccadv.org/our-work/training-and-outreach/
Evans, M., Lindauer, M., & Farrell, M. (2020, December 31). A Pandemic within a Pandemic - Intimate Partner Violence during Covid-19: NEJM. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2024046
Mathis, D. (2016, March 28). The Black Church is Not Always a Safe Space for Victims of Domestic Violence. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://abernathymagazine.com/black-church-not-always-safe-space-victims-domestic-violence/
Nationalcenterdvtraumamh.org. (n.d.). Online Training & Resource Center. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from http://www.nationalcenterdvtraumamh.org/trainingta/
Ncadv.org. (n.d.). NCADV: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://ncadv.org/state-by-state
Richard, C. (2015, March). Intimate Partner Violence in the Black Church: Bridging the Gap between Awareness and Policy Development. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from Rhttps://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/110/
Valera, E. (2020, June 29). When lockdown is not actually safer: Intimate partner violence during COVID-19. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/when-lockdown-is-not-actually-safer-intimate-partner-violence-during-covid-19-2020070720529
Williams, O., & Jenkins, E. (2019). A Survey of Black Churches’ Responses to Domestic Violence. Social Work & Christianity, 46(4), 21–38. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.34043/swc.v46i4.110